Count
by a scarlet scarf
Summary: one- two- three- four- I was in love.


It was simple, really.

Falling in love with Perseus Jackson had taken but the count of-

_one_

**two**

three

four.

_one_

* * *

><p><span>He was out cold, a thin stream of drool escaping from his lips.<span>

A swath of messy raven hair against a pale, downy pillow. Slight snores coming from an ajar mouth.

He was, no doubt, a demigod. His face was not peaceful as he slept, and his fingers clutched the white blanket so tightly that his knuckles blanched.

I was not amused.

For the kid who had destroyed the Minotaur, saved that useless satyr, and was supposed to take me out on my first quest, Perseus Jackson was seriously disappointing.

He awoke groggily, a desolate and heart-broken expression on his face. His eyes watered with pain and loss, but I paid that no attention.

"Do you know anything? About the summer solstice?"

"Uhh… Grover was talking about it with Mr. Brunner…" He paused, slightly startled by the random question.

"Continue." I pressed, wanting more information about why the lord of the sky was throwing a hissy fit.

"I don't really know much more…" Perseus sheepishly said.

I groaned, and rolled my eyes. "They don't tell me anything."

"Who-"

The voices outside grew louder, and I knew that I'd have to talk to him later.

Quickly, I shoved a spoonful of ambrosia into his mouth, and watched him sink into blissful sleep.

Perseus hadn't told me anything, the idiot.

I wanted to strangle the kid.

I was majorly ticked off.

Percy had just gotten us trapped in Medusa's lair, and we had barely escaped with our lives.

Though, that was quite common.

Now, we were stuck with a head that could potentially kill us all with one look, and no way to ensure that we could safely get rid of it.

Percy and I were at an impasse, both of us blaming each other for the incident. Poor Grover, on the other hand, was caught in the middle of it all.

"It's just a photograph, what harm could it do?" I mocked Percy.

"Yeah, well, if only you mom hadn't been Athena-"

"Are you blaming my mom now for your mistake?! You're impertinent!"

"You're impossible!"

We continued arguing for a long while, until Grover cut in.

"You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't get migraine."

We were quiet, until Percy piped up.

"Well... What are we going to do with the head?"

Grover simply shrugged.

"I have an idea." Percy said quietly.

I rolled my eyes. "Watch out! Percy has an idea!"

"Shut up."

I watched, confused, as Percy made his way to Medusa's desk.

"Percy-"

He pulled out a box, a marker, and a bag of drachmas.

Grover looked wary as Percy dragged the head, still tightly wrapped, out of the little corner we had kicked it into.

"You do know that it can still turn you into stone..."

Percy paid no attention and simply put the head into the box, and carefully began printing an address onto the box.

The idiot was sending the head to Mount Olympus.

Mount Olympus.

He was asking to be killed.

But in a strange way... I couldn't help but admire that. It was subtly rebellious, with just the right amount of impudence that many demigods would never show.

Percy Jackson was different, and I liked that.

* * *

><p><strong>two<strong>

Everything ached.

Shoulders, kneecaps, ankles, arms.

I couldn't hold up the sky for much longer.

Where was the idiot son of Poseidon when you needed him?

Suddenly, the sound of helicopter firing startled me out of my thoughts.

A fighter jet soared in the sky, raining down what looked to be Celestial Bronze bullets on the monsters, who dissolved. At the wheel was- my dad?!

I searched the group who'd come to save me for Percy, but he was nowhere in sight. My heart sank, wishing that my quest partner was here to help me out.

I collapsed on the mountain top, relief soon flooding my tired muscles. I smiled with the release, and look at Artemis, who was also free. I saw Atlas battling a small girl, who looked to be around seventeen.

A strange thought occurred to me. If I wasn't holding the sky, and neither were Artemis and Atlas, then how could we still be on the mountain without being crushed?

I whirled around, my blonde hair whipping me in the face. I saw a gray strand of hair whoosh by, and I randomly wondered if it would be there forever. Like the world's worst souvenir.

Percy was there, his arms and legs shaking with the effort of holding up the sky alone. He looked up at me, before giving me a half smile. I noticed that he had a gray streak running through his raven hair too, and I felt a twinge in my stomach.

"Thalia!" Luke's voice rang out amidst the chaos. I looked over at him, and noticed with a shock that the daughter of Zeus showed no mercy to her former best friend.

"You hurt Annabeth. How could you?!" Thalia yelled, striking a sword down on Backbiter.

"Come join us, we're so much stronger, we could save you from your father-"

"You promised a family, Luke." With that, Thalia slammed her shield into Luke, and knocked him over the cliff on the opposite side.

My heart stopped.

"Luke! Luuuke!" I cried, racing down the mountain. Thalia fell to her knees, pain and remorse written all over her face. I hugged her and rocked back and forth.

On the opposite side, Atlas yelled triumphantly, sticking a sword through the girl's stomach. Artemis screamed, and rushed to the girl's side, and I realized with a shock that the fallen girl had a silver circlet signifying her as Artemis's lieutenant. Atlas paid her no attention, and instead marched up to Percy.

He stood at the top of the mountain, grinned sadistically while Percy winced at the pain. There was no time for me to save him now, and I could only watch in horror.

Percy dived off the closest edge of the mountain, rolling down the side. My mouth dropped open in wonder and shock as Atlas scratched his head in confusion.

Less than a second passed before the weight of the sky landed instead on Atlas, and I made my way to Percy.

"You do know, he wasn't supposed to go on the quest…?"

"What?"

"Percy, you know he snuck out to go find you, right?"

I stared in confusion at Grover.

"Why would he ever do that?"

He rolled his eyes.

"For a daughter of Athena, you can be really thick."

I punched him, and watched him double over, wheezing.

"Sorr-sorry, scary lady."

But if that numbskull son of Poseidon did what Grover said he did…

Well, that was pretty freaking heroic of him to do it.

Not to mention, pretty freaking romantic.

* * *

><p><em>three<em>

"What do you mean, the mortal is coming with us?"

I wanted to kill Percy again.

When I had finally come to terms with myself about how, yes, he was quite cute, how he was so nice, and how just maybe we had a future…

He goes and brings a mortal girl into my quest.

"Annabeth! I swear, she knows the labyrinth."

Rachael Elizabeth Dare nodded, while subtly winking at Percy.

Percy, being the oblivious person he was, completely didn't see it.

I did, though.

Even though I knew that the mortal probably was the key this quest, I couldn't help but hate her.

"Annabeth, go on without me."

"What?"

"I'll make it out safely, by myself. Put on your hat and escape.

"But-"

"I'll be fine. Go."

Scratched up, burnt, slightly bleeding, Perseus Jackson was the handsomest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

And he was about to die.

It wasn't fair.

Reluctantly, I picked up my hat, preparing to disappear and run away. Percy grimaced and waved half-heartedly in some form of a goodbye.

It hurt like Hades to let go.

But I did.

Springing forward, I swiftly kissed Percy.

"Good luck, and kill some monsters."

I pulled my hat on before he could see me crying.

* * *

><p><span>four<span>

Swords clashed.

Demigods yelled, some in victory, some in pain.

Percy and I were back to back, sword and dagger drawn.

There was a ring of monsters around us, but that didn't faze us one bit.

"Just like old times?" I looked at the son of Poseidon.

Percy smirked, cracking his neck.

"Oh yeah."

The first wave of monsters didn't stand a chance. A bronze blur was all you could see as Percy fought, turning dozens and dozens of monsters to dust.

I was holding my own too. Although the dagger had a much shorter reach than most other weapons, I was quicker than most monsters, and always came out on top.

Still, we began tiring. There seemed to be no end to the rushing onslaught of monsters and demigods, and the triumphant smirk slid off Percy's face. I was nicked a few times out of carelessness, and I almost dropped my dagger out of sheer exhastion.

"You doing alright?" Percy called, letting his guard down for just one second.

I opened my mouth to reply, but in that one split second where Percy diverted his attention to me, a demigod with one eye prepared to stab him.

Panic instantly seized my body, and I leapt toward Percy.

The dagger drove into my arm.

The wound burned, and the poison on the blade started to make me woozy with pain.

Percy cried out, and clutched me tightly to him.

"Well, looks like the hero has a soft spot! Why don't we head for the girl…"

A sharp taxi-cab whistle rang out, and Blackjack swooped down and pulled me into the sky, over the bridge.

I was already in too much pain to think, and when Blackjack brought me to the plaza, I was already out cold.

* * *

><p>"There was poison on the knife. Pretty stupid of me, eh?" I chuckled lightly, while observing Percy's worried face.<p>

"You could've died! I mean, you were almost there! if you hadn't-"

"You're cute when you're worried. When your eyebrows get all scrunched up-"

"Why did you take the knife for me? You know I took a dip in the Styx…  
>"It just felt right."<p>

A moment of silence between us.

"Erm… About what Hermes said in the throne room… What did he mean?"

I sighed loudly, before wincing in pain.

"if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to," Percy injected quickly.

I waved hik off.

"No, you-you deserve to know. A couple weeks ago, Luke came over to my house. Before, you know, he went… crazy."

"He went to San Francisco?!"

"Yeah. He...He said that Kronos was too powerful, and he asked me to join him. And of course, I said no. He told me that I'd regret my decision, and I guess Hermes never forgave me for trying to stop him."

Percy exhaled, his green eyes searching my face for any emotion.

"Whatever. I'm just thanking the gods that you're alive."

I patted his hand.

"Where-where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"Achilles' heel. Where's yours?"

Percy looked conflicted about it, unsure whether or not I was to be trusted. I was, to him. His face cleared, and he pulled my hand to the small of his back.

"Here."

I brushed it with the tips of my fingers, but even with that small movement, Percy flinched. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

As I looked up at him, my breath hitched in my throat as I realized that I loved Perseus Jackson, now matter how stupid or idiotic he was.

One, two, three, four.

All I had to do was count.

* * *

><p>fin-<p>

**A/N: How was it?**

**Comments?**

**:)**

**-a scarlet scarf**

**(Prompt: Twenty-five colors on the wall. What are they and what do they mean?)**


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